THE BULLETIN. Church Services in September 30th - Harvest Festival. Significant Days in September. Social Events in September

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1 Ke THE BULLETIN keeping you informed and up to date with activities and developments at St Margaret's Church, Leigh on Sea. Vol 2 No 9 September 2018 Church Services in September 30th - Harvest Festival All other services as advertised CELL OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM Our February meeting will be on Wednesday, September 5th at St Margaret's Church 7.30pm for Mass. It is informal and very friendly. Everyone is invited, whether or not a member. If you require any further information, please contact me by telephone ( ) or by churchwarden@saintmargaretsleigh.org Peter Fisher ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Significant Days in September 8th - Birth of Blessed Virgin Mary 21st - Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist 29th -Saint Michael and All Angels ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Social Events in September 8th - Church 'sparkle' 9.30 am Refreshments provided 11th - Our 'One Stop' Coffee Shop re-opens 22nd - Greek Night Attendance by ticket only 29th - Michaelmas Fayre We have been supporters of HARP for many years and will be continuing our donations of Food and Goods. This month we are concentrating on supplying Microwavable Rice; Pot Noodles; Tinned Macaroni Cheese, Tinned Ravioli; Tinned Spaghetti Bolognaise ~~~ You are invited to join us at A Greek Night on Saturday 22nd September 7 pm in the church hall. Tickets: 10 / 5 children 12 and under For Tickets: or churchwarden@saintmargaretsleigh.org Meal included: Greek Salad & Moussaka Plus Entertainment BRING YOUR OWN DRINKS Admittance by ticket only Parish Priest: The Revd Fr. David Wylie RN vicar@saintmargaretsleigh.org

2 2 us up for the night, but had to get up early to take us back!). Sep 24. 2pm. Corporate office in church followed by Elizabeth Marshall talking about " English for Women". English for Women is an MU project which is currently working in Chelmsford. MU hire the YMCA rooms three times a week, currently accommodating up to 100 ladies with their children who don t have English language. They are helped by volunteers and there is one part time paid organiser. They are helped to live in England, learning how to do many things we take for granted, how to enrol children at school, how to shop with different currency and what things are. We are very good at giving things names like bangers which could be terrifying to someone who didn t know. The project is very successful and there are many newcomers to England who now have English, helping them and us to be good citizens. There is a benefactor who has offered to double any contributions to the running costs for a whole year which is a wonderful offer, if any of the congregation would like to help we would be delighted. If you are interested in joining MU, please contact Sheila or Angela The Diary of a Walking Pilgrim Day 5 Wed 31 st May St Mary s Mendlesham-St Mary s Attleborough approx. 26 miles Awoke early (around 5:45) for the longest day. After ablutions we packed and were ferried back to the church where we had a communal breakfast with all our hosts (who had not only put After Morning Prayer and the obligatory selfie we set off around 7a.m. It was a lovely morning and we kept together for most of the day. Anthony s hosts included a nurse, so his blister was dutifully attended-to. However, when one attends a nurse for the application of a dressing to the base of the foot, one would normally go home and put one s feet (or foot) up not walk 26 miles. So Anthony tended to stay in front of the rest of us to keep up his momentum. Despite written directions and maps, we still managed to go off-route and found ourselves on the very busy A140. The detour was only about a mile all told but it was something we could have done without, particularly on this day. Further on we had the luxury of a soft well maintained footpath and the support cars waiting at the end with refreshment. Soon afterwards (just before Diss) we passed under the Norwich-London railway line another great opportunity to let rip with the Lloyd George song. We crossed over the A134 through Palgrave and then just before the Norfolk border reached Karen s nadir of It was at this point that the intense pain in her feet and multiple blisters meant she would be unable to walk for a couple of days. She vividly recalled that bench and when we reached it this time (without a blister to be seen) we gathered around it for a

3 3 selfie and rendition of a several verses of the Half-way to Walsingham song. Soon after we crossed the river, entered Diss and made a beeline for the same Tea Rooms we had visited two year s previously. We were remembered by the owner (who told us to put an order in if we were to do it again!). Between us we managed to sample a good cross-section of the homemade pastries available and several different blends of tea. Very well refreshed we set off northwards again. It was a fairly hot day and we continued, knowing that we still had miles to walk. In the 2015 walk we had approached Attleborough from due south on an incredibly busy B road with frequent HGV s particularly sugar beet lorries. I had had to jump into the ditch at the side of the road on three occasions and Jo had been reduced to tears with the constant near-misses. So this time we approached via a different route although that added a couple of miles to the journey. We arrived at Attleborough (not quite all together) between 6:10 & 6:30. At 7:00 the priest had arranged a concelebrated mass and had invited his parishioners to join. Unfortunately only a couple took advantage of his offer but in such a lovely church the service was very memorable and the priest requested a photo of us all with him in his midst, which he quickly added to his parish s website. The hall where we ate and slept is a community Day Centre, so the kitchen was very well equipped to enable the serving of an excellent supper (Chinese takeaway) and libation storage for the odd bottle or two. Some fancy dress items were dug out causing raucous laughter and a couple of the pilgrims tried out the bath which could tip up! Fr Bill stayed with us and the support team then headed off to Walsingham before Evening prayer as usual preceded the weary snuggle into sleeping bags all spread out to disparate parts of the hall (and Thomas upstairs in the office). Donald Fraser Come let us age! I wonder how many folk find this ageing process a very steep learning curve. I do, and I admit that I am making a very bad job of it. I am really desperately struggling with it, and trying to make sense of what is happening to my body, mind and spirit. There is a wonderful little book written by Wanda Nash, a Spiritual Guide and silent prayer guide, entitled 'Come Let Us Age!' an invitation to grow old boldly, published by the Bible Reading Fellowship at 6, and worth every penny. Wanda faces all the issues straight on with seriousness, with play and laughter and the consequences of being old. There are the physical limitations,

4 4 brought on by falls perhaps, slowing down, painful limbs, needing help with shopping, gardening, household tasks etc and really hard for me used to walking my dogs for miles every day through Belfair's, the need to ask sometimes for help from my special friend, who volunteers for the Cinnamon Trust. There are the cerebral limitations, forgetfulness, fading and lost memories, stupidity and, for me, the return of the old 'black dog' of depression. There are moral limitations of trying to understand the standards and morality of the past in today's world. Guilt or remorse of the past, or just plain relationships that could have been different, more loving and forgiving. Yet we must never forget the joys, the blessings, the love that carries us through. Yet this is all our journey to, into God, a letting go, to find that empty space which only God can fill. This is the faithful, loving, compassionate and all forgiving God, who loves without stint whatever I may do, because it is His very nature, and He can do, or be no other. As I see it, it is all in the letting go(wow!) and letting God(more wow!!) into his arms and heart. What a lot I still have to learn! Margaret Royce "Meaning Beyond Absurdity" Art, Faith, War and Peace. St Clement of Rome, Leigh on Sea The First in a Series of Biennial Lectures on the Arts First Sunday of the month 5pm -7pm 2 September 2018: Father Neil Dalley MA "Save and deliver us, we humbly beseech thee": the lasting influence of the First World War on the Church of England in its life, buildings and liturgy. 7 October 2018: Dr Lyanne Beckerson "Blessed are they that mourn": war as remembrance in the liturgical arts of A.J. Davies and The Bromsgrove Guild. 4 November 2018: The Right Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford The Resurrection of the Soldiers. Cost will be 5 includes coffee/tea and a biscuit. Proceeds to be divided between church funds and The Royal British Legion. The Revd Jen Barham, died 25th July. She passed peacefully from this life to the next at home surrounded by her family. Our love goes out to her husband John who these past years has done what love asked of him as his beloved wife was increasingly claimed by the cruelty of vascular dementia. Rev Jen s funeral will be on Friday 7th September at 12 Noon in St Nicholas Church, Canvey. May she rest in peace now and rise in glory. Jen and her husband John were members of St Margaret's congregation for many years

5 5 Chris Dowsett is leaving us in September to begin 10 weeks of Royal Navy basic training at HMS Raleigh in Plymouth following which he will be specialising and training as a RN medic for another 18 months. This means he will be based at various locations around the UK while he is receiving this training. We wish him lots of luck and send him off with our love and prayers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are posters, handbills and small banners for cars at the back of church to advertise our Fayre. Please take what you need. Soon there will be a list of stalls that need help. In the meantime we need donations of the following: Raffle Prizes; Contributions for the BIG hamper (see list at back of church) chocolate; sweets; toys; bottles; cakes; books Holiday Club Places still available 28th - 30th August 10 am - 3 pm 20 For ages 5-11 years Bring a packed lunch To book a place holidayclub@saintmargaretsleigh.org

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